Round 4 of the GNCC Racing Series take us to Union, South Carolina for the VP Racing Fuels Big Buck. The landowner, Henry Turner, has hosted the GNCC Racing Series for 20 seasons now. The entire town of Union comes out to this particular race every year. To gain the support of your town is almost unheard of, but this community really comes together to support us coming out to enjoy a weekend of racing.
This track has always been one of my favorites. The South Carolina clay terrain, dusty conditions, and fastness always make this race a difficult one to place well in. Usually about halfway through the race you see machines and riders start to fall off due to the conditions. Endurance and a well-maintained machine is key here.
There were 10 entries on the line for the 9 a.m. start of the Single Seat ACE race. I am very pleased to see the consistency of racers coming out to join us in their Polaris Ace. Before we started my mechanic, Ben, asked me not to tear it up too bad while out there, I told him I’d do my best. With that we were all waiting for the ten-second call with our eyes all on Rickey Towery. I was about a mid-pack start as we disappeared into the woods. About half a mile into the course someone about 3 cars up hit a tree. I wasn’t ready for everyone to stop and slammed into the car in front of me. After than incident I was a bit flustered. There was a section on the track that when I was going around I was a bit hesitant on. There was an inside line that was a bit off camber for comfort and an outside line that was even but the turn was sharper than I expected and I hit the tree letting two cars get around me. When I get situated and going again I was more flustered than before. Getting in to the next straight away I got behind another car being sure to stay close due to dusty conditions, at one point the driver let off and I didn’t, so I slammed into them. We made it to the finish to complete lap number one. I made it two turns out of the finish and rolled my car. The last thought to go through my mind was, “Oh Crap!”, and I was on the side. Matt Watson helped to tip me back over, he said I was on the gas before the car even hit the ground. With a bit to eventful first lap I gathered myself and focused on finishing the race. I felt very calm and in tune with the machine. I came through with the white two-lap card out and I was in third. I could hardly believe it! When I came through the finish to get the white flag I slowed my pace and made it a priority to get through the last lap. The car started acting like it wanted to turn off on me, so I stayed steady on the gas to get a podium finish! Words cannot describe how great it felt to be up there with my teammate Sam Yokley! We hope to continue this momentum to the next round!
I have so many people beside me to thank for getting me on the box. First and foremost the Good Lord for watching over each of us as we go out and participate in a sport we love. Racer Productions for putting on a great series; giving us an awesome track to battle it out on. Factory Polaris Racing, Keffer Mazda of Charlotte, Justified Cultures, People Services, GBC Motorsports, PAC Racing Springs, Loud Performance Products, Motion Pro, Shoei Helmets, Beard Seats, SSI Decals, Trinity Racing, K & N Filters, Scott Motorsports, Rockwell Time, the fans, my family of course, and a special thanks to the guys on the Jacks team for feeding me and taking care of me the last two rounds! See you guys again in two weeks!
Follow my road to Texas as I take over Justified Cultures Snapchat (@livejustified) again this Wednesday, where I will be competeing in the Rise Adaptive Sports WCMX National Competition on Sunday along with singing the National Anthem!
Be sure to check out my interviews from last week!
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